The mobile Internet Protocol (MIP) enables a mobile terminal to move freely from one point of connection to another in various networks it visits along its route. In particular, the MIP protocol describes those actions that enable a mobile terminal to maintain connectivity during a handover from one access router to another access router. For example, a mobile terminal operating in an enhanced third-generation (3G) wireless communication network such as 1XEV-DO (TIA/EIA/IS-856) may desire to move to a wireless local area network (WLAN), and vice versa. In a more particular example, consider a terminal user engaged in a voice over IP (VoIP) call in a 1XEV-DO network. When the user enters an area, such as the user's office, providing WLAN connectivity, the user may desire to move the VoIP call from the 1XEV-DO network to the WLAN, such as to obtain better or more economical connectivity, speed, quality of service (QoS) and the like.
Contexts such as that described above are generally applicable to mobile terminals that have communication interfaces that permit the mobile terminals to access networks via different interface technologies. In such instances, although various networks may be accessible via different interface technologies, in various instances different accessible networks differ in their data transmission characteristics, and/or in one or more other dimensions such as their administrative models. As will be appreciated, differing data transmission characteristics can impact the kind of applications that can operate over a given interface. And while the data flows of one or more applications may be mapped to different network interfaces, such mapping may require policy decision making within or remote from the respective mobile terminals.
As the number of communication interfaces and applications increase, the importance of the mobile terminal as a personal trusted device also typically increases. In spite of this increased system complexity, however, it is generally desirable to further simplify the users' interaction with the system, while also providing more personalized and automated services. In this regard, when downloading and/or installing new applications to a mobile terminal with multiple interfaces, application profile/settings specific to the respective applications are typically created to properly operate the applications within the terminal. Currently, terminal users may be required to manually configure such profile/settings, even though in many instances such profile/settings are difficult for users to understand, and thus configure.